Acceptances at Yu Ying

[Anonymous]

I thought it was great. A bit disorganized, but given all the kids that seemed inevitable. Loved the Exec. Dir. and other staff. Building looks cool. I was inspired actually. But, not so thrilled about class size and teacher:student ratio. Of course, it might be much less than 2:25 the first year but if it does well then that's what we'd be looking at. And if it doesn't, well, we'd have bigger problems! What about you?

[Anonymous]

Excited and scared at the same time. The woman from George Mason (I forget her name) seemed together and knowledgeable. I am not 100% sold on the IB approach (I don't think example of the home unit was well presented). It sure does seem like assessing progress would be difficult. And I don't know how with 2:25 they could attend to both gifted and special needs kids as they claim. I'm also a little worried about being able to support the chinese learning at home. I know they mentioned eventually having classes for adults, but who knows when or if that will actually come to fruition. Spanish is everywhere and there are so many opportunities for reinforcement and integration. I am not sure it will go as smoothly for Chinese essentially 16 or 20 hours/week (2 days + every other Friday, as I understand it). I missed a bit of the session, so I do not know if on those two days EVERYTHING will be taught in Chinese, including math, but that's the sense that I got. Will it be too disjointed for the kids to be studying math or reading in Chinese on a Monday and tues continue the lesson in English? I'm less worried about things like history lessons or cultural lessons, etc., but basics like reading and math I can see being problematic in so much switching back and forth. (It is possible that I did miss this part and so maybe math is always in English, I don't know). I also don't understand why they are spending all the $ to completely renovate that huge building if they plan to move in 3 years. That seemed a bit odd to me in terms of spending budget $. I also assume that like many other charters the test scores will be abysmal in the first few years, and how that will impact funding and/or abilities to transfer to other schools if it becomes necessary (if we/child hates it; if the school folds).

I don't know... on one hand I was also inspired. On the other, there were things I immediately disliked (student:teacher ration) and many that are frightening because they are just unknowns.

[Anonymous]

Also question why they didn't try harder to get native chinese speaking kids. Doesn't seem like there will be many, if any, and that supposedly makes a big difference in whether language immersion really works. Plus if they are mingling a lot with the other charter school, then won't that prevent the kids from using Chinese as much as they might otherwise? I do think they will teach everything in Chinese on those days, even math. According to the research, though, it doesn't seem to hurt the kids.

[Anonymous]

What do you know about the charter that they will be sharing the building with? Is it the building only, or will they be sharing other resources, as well?

[Anonymous]

The way they described it, YY has the first floor and Potomac Lighthouse has the 3rd floor and they split the 2nd floor where the classrooms are sort of intermingled. She didn't elaborate and I forgot to ask about it afterwards so not sure exactly how it works...

[Anonymous]

what do people think of the school's international baccalaureate approach?

[Anonymous]

and what do people think about the location?

[Anonymous]

well, the location is only temporary, right? I think it is OK in the meantime, esp. b/c the building is going to be new inside. it's not ideal in terms of being near things where I could get errands done on the way there or back. Are there concerns I should know about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what do people think of the school's international baccalaureate approach?

I've always heard great things about IB..

[Anonymous]

We drove past the school building today to see what the commute would be like. It sure looks like a LOT of work still needs to be done. Are they certain it will be done by Sept.2?!

[Anonymous]

The location of the incubator campus is actually a bit secluded from busy roads and in a more attractive location than other charter schools (e.g., Two Rivers, DC Prep, LAMB). If you don't live in the Brookland, Woodridge area, however, it may be a bit of a pain getting there.

I attended the Information Session on May 7th, and was very impressed by the staff. Very energetic, intellectual, dedicated group of people whose children (in most instances) will also be attending Yu Ying. I spoke with a staff member with in-depth knowledge about the curriculum and the IB program, Alejandra. One question I had was how will their IB program be the same or differ from that of WIS. She was very familiar and spoke knowledgebly about the IB program, and stated that the main difference was that WIS does English and foreign language on the same day -- one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The main consideration re: IB is that it is an international standard that Yu Ying must comply with. It will take a three year candidacy before they are officially made an IB school. Accordingly, Yu Ying must dot all their i's and cross their t's. Also note that a former head of WIS, Dexter Lewis, sits on Yu Ying's board so they have an invaluable resource in him. One staff member described him as being "very proud" and "excited" about the manner in which Yu Ying is proceeding. I was also very impressed by the diversity of students and parents I saw at the meeting.

Yu Ying's goal is to become the pre-eminent Chinese immersion IB program in the country. They appear to have the talent, heart, confidence and know-how to take it on. As a parent who was hesitant about taking a chance on a first year Chinese immersion program for my pre-K son (and solidly convinced that Spanish is more practical and easier to support, (yes, I read Bilingual Edge too!)), after the meeting I was convinced that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of something unique, different and intellectually and experientially beneficial for my son. Yu Ying seem to have open arms when it comes to parent participation and they realize that it is a community-centered/needed/supported venture.

You know how you go to a Two Rivers or a Capital City open house and you have the original parents there whose kids are now in 4th or 6th grade? And you wish, "wow, I wish I could have been here at the beginning??" because the lottery is damn near impossible to win? I feel after careful consideration, family debate and closing down the May 7th information session, that relinquishing my prime spot at DC Bilingual was worth the chance to be a part of Yu Ying. Mind you, I'm not naive or sticking my head in the sand about the challenges that Yu Ying will face as a first year charter, but as with any bilingual education you have to be committed to the school, administration, curriculum, etc and as long as they keep the lines of communication open, retain their energy, commitment and spirit of community, I believe (and really, really hope) that Yu Ying will attain its goal and become a model charter school for the rest of the country.

[Anonymous]

to PP 11:11 are you at all concerned about the student:teacher ratio, the performance of charter schools in general in DC (I've read how the students often lag behind the regular DCPSs), or that often charter schools experience many of the same problems that DCPS do in terms of discipline, etc.? I have also read that charters tend to attract less experienced teachers and that there is more teacher turnover.

I am just trying to get a sense for how much the Chinese immersion or IB program may mitigate some of the negative things that often arise in the charter setting. I, too, am excited about Yu Ying but there is a nagging voice at the back of my head that says, "don't be TOO excited..."

[Anonymous]

It does not matter whether a school is well established or new. Parents need to be vigilant about the quality of education and the specific ways in which the child and the family are right (or not right) for the program. Personally, I'm more risk adverse and would prefer to wait a few more years for a school to have some "track record" first before making the decision to send my second child there. But we will definitely be watching YuYing very closely in the next few years to see if it can overcome some of the inevitable challenges that come along with any new school. Beyond anything else, your child and your family's experience with the school will depend primarily on the quality and responsiveness of the teaching staff. Hopefully, the teachers who are inuagurating the school this September will be around in a couple of years. A frequent turnover of teachers should be a red flag for any school.

Good luck to all of the pioneers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to PP 11:11 are you at all concerned about the student:teacher ratio, the performance of charter schools in general in DC (I've read how the students often lag behind the regular DCPSs), or that often charter schools experience many of the same problems that DCPS do in terms of discipline, etc.? I have also read that charters tend to attract less experienced teachers and that there is more teacher turnover.

I am just trying to get a sense for how much the Chinese immersion or IB program may mitigate some of the negative things that often arise in the charter setting. I, too, am excited about Yu Ying but there is a nagging voice at the back of my head that says, "don't be TOO excited..."

I am interested to see how the student:teacher ratio will actually work in this IB setting. I will state that in most low performing charter schools the large number of students below the poverty line contributes to the poor performance of some PCSs. If you speak with any principal at PCS, they readily acknowledge that there are students in their population who do not perform well in the younger grades because they do not have foundation because of the problems in DCPS. This problem does not exist to the same degree in private schools, or in fact at DCPS in affluent neighborhoods. Because such testing won't occur until there is a 3rd grade class at Yu Ying, they will have a number of years (at least two) to create a foundation for such students and be more proactive in getting students who may be lagging (whatever their economic background) additional assistance. Also, from the parents at the info session, I got a sense that most of them were active, involved parents who appreciate the challenge of bilingual education and were committed to the school and the community.

With respect to teachers, I spoke with one of the staff members about my specific concerns of attracting and sustaining native language Chinese teachers in an environment where they are in high demand not only by schools but Fortune 500 companies and others. She answered quite honestly by saying that a large portion of the budget was used to competitively secure highly qualified teachers who would not be lured by other offers. Granted we cannot foretell what others may do, but it indicates to me that they realize and thought about the challenge of keeping highly qualified and experienced teachers. Also, they have "marketed" (if you will) Yu Ying as a model of chinese immersion IB program in the country, and their excitement is contagious not only to parents but teachers as well.

I fully understand your nagging feelings. I still have them myself, and wonder should I just rely on the reputation and history of a school like WIS. This journey will not only require me to be less risk adverse than usual, but also require that I dedicate a substantial part of time and energy that I had originally thought. I feel that it's right in my gut. And sometimes motherhood is about facts, figures and what's tried and true, but a lot of it is what you feel is right, right??

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't Yu Ying's charter be online? How does a parent know what the specific goals are that the school has set out for itself to determine whether it is being successful?

The school has to have some measurable outcomes I would assume so that some outside body can evaluate whether the goals are being met.